1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for transporting, dispensing, and mixing cementing material and mineral aggregate.
More particularly, the invention relates to apparatus which can simultaneously dispense cementing material and mineral aggregate at varying rates and which can mix the cementing material and mineral aggregate in varying proportions.
In another respect, the invention pertains to a system for transporting unmixed cementing material and mineral aggregate to a remote site.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 C.F.R. Sections 1.97 and 1.00
Containers for dispensing totally mixed, ready-to-use mortar products and other cementing materials at a construction site are well known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,821 to Fenelon discloses a silo from which a dry premixed mortar blend is dispensed. The silo described in the Fenelon patent has disadvantages. First, the Fenelon silo is made to be transported by a fork lift. Driving or transporting a fork lift to a construction site simply to erect the Fenelon silo often is undesirable because it increases personnel and other overhead costs. Second, once the Fenelon silo is on site, a forklift or crane is be utilized to charge the silo with 3000 pound bags of premixed mortar blend. This means that both the 3000 bags and the fork lift or crane must be transported to the construction site to charge the silo, again incurring additional labor and other overhead costs. Third, the Fenelon silo requires dry premixed mortar blend. Bags of premixed mortar are substantially more expensive than the bulk cement and sand utilized in preparing the dry mortar blend.
Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide a system which would deliver and dispense mixes of mortar and other cementing material at a construction site without requiring that a forklift, crane, and additional personnel be dedicated to assembling and filling a dispensing container. It also would be desirable to provide a system which would dispense mixes of mortar and other cementing materials without requiring the use of dry premixed blends of mortar or other cementing materials.
Therefore, it is a principal object of the invention to provide an improved system for dispensing blends of mortar and other cementing materials.
A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus which can, without requiring a crane or forklift to erect the apparatus at a construction site, be utilized to dispense blends of mortar and other cementing materials.
Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus which does not require the use of bags of dry premixed blends of cementing materials in order to dispense such cementing materials at a construction site.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide apparatus which can be utilized at a construction site to dispense different blends of cementing materials and mineral aggregate.